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(No Model.)

H. A. VOGEL. ORGAN ACTION. No. 439,616. Patented Oct. 28, 1890.

Z .v Rw W /\\WWM Q M T A7 N.%R1 J a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. VOGEL, OF FORT \VAYNE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE FORT IVAYNE ORGAN COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

ORGAN-ACTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,616, dated October 28,1890.

Application filed April 2L2, 1888.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY A. VOGEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Wayne, in the county of Allen and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Organ-Actions, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in organ-actions, including the reed-board, the reed-chambers, the air-passages, the devices for admitting and regulating the passage of the air, &c., the obj ect being to provideaconstruction in which can be produced tones of qualities superior to those produced in organs as commonly constructed.

Figure I is a vertical section of a portion of an organ sufficient to illustrate the manner of embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a partial rear view of the parts shown in Fig. I.

In the drawings a portion of the frame-work is shown at A A, upon which is supported a reed-board B. It will be understood that the frame-work as a whole and the casing can be of any suitable character, the invention to which this case relates being of such character that it can be embodied in any one of numerous forms of these instruments.

The keys, which are represented by G, are mounted on the inner or rear bar O and supported on the forward cross-bar C The valves are represented by D, being situated in the wind-chest or part thereof immediately below the aii passages indicated by d.

d is a tracker-pin constructed and arranged in the usual way between the key O and a valve D.

Upon the reed-board B are mounted the cell-boards. I have shown on one side a cellboard having a single row or set of cells F, and upon the other side a cell-board having two sets or rows F F The cells or reedchambers F are provided with mutes or valves G, which close and open the air-passages g, and also provided with vibrators g, properly mounted above the air-exit d. The mutes or valves G are hinged on one side of the cells, their free edges being preferably at the bottom in the ordinary way and (when the mutes Serial No. 271,717. (No model.)

are closed) lying upon or near the heel ends of the vibrators.

Outside of the reedchambers proper I provide another chamber II, having its parts so constructed and related to each other and to the inclosed parts of the reed-chambers that certain advantageous peculiarities of tone are produced when the reeds are sounding.

II represents a board situated in front of the mute Gr and supported from a bar h, secured to the top of the cell-board E. Preferably the board H is hinged to the bar It, so that it can be readily thrown up out of the way when it is desired to get access to the interior parts.

At 7L thereis a permanently-open slot or airpassagebelow the lower edge of the board H.

The position of the board II and the size and situation of the slot or air-passage h are L0 be varied for the producing of the difierent tones that may be desired.

By examining the drawings it will be seen that the chamber II, formed by the parts just described, is entirely supplemental to the cells or reed-chambers proper, the mute or valve G when closed forming a complete separation between them. hen the mute is opened, this outer chamber causes the production of sounds which are almost identical in character with the tones of the wooden pipes of the great organ. The board II serves as one of the walls of this chamber, and by being directly in front of the passage from the cell it acts as a reflector to assist in insuring that the air-vibrations shall, after escaping from the cells, be properly modified. As this chamber is always of the same size and character, there is no variation in its modifying action on the sounds or vibrations from the cells; and in this respect it differs radi cally both from the reed-chambers and from the swell-chambers, which vary in efficiency from a pointof quiet to a point of fullest power; and it is in these respects that this mechanism varies materially from each of several earlier ones with which I am acquainted, and to which I will refer for the purpose of making the essential features of the present one more clearly understood.

I am aware of the fact that hinged boards have been used in combination with mutes,

the boards being held by springs against the mutes in such way that they are at all times in contact with each other and in whatsoever positions they may be placed, as shown in patent to Wegman, No. 299,707, granted June 3, 1884. In such case there is no chamber exterior to the cells and with which communication is provided at the free edges of the mutes.

I am also aware that use has been made of movable boards or valves in proximity to hinged mutes either in or out of contact with each other, in combination with a mechanism of such sort that said boards and valves are moved simultaneously with the mutes and toward and from them. Such a construction is illustrated in the patent to Newman,

, No. 264,097, September 12, 1882; but at no time is it true with such a construction that there is exterior to the reed-chamber and exterior to the throat at the free edge of the mute a chamber of the character of that which I produce and which is at all times independent of the position of the mute and from which the sound vibrations can escape through a permanent-1y open passage way. The swell-chamber is not analogous to the chamber which I provide, though it can be used supplementally to it. In fact the essential chamber constituting the peculiar feature of my construction is independent of and intermediate between the swell-chamber and the passage at the free edge of the mute from the cell-chamber.

I know, further, that use has been made of what may be called a compound or circuitous cell or reed-chamherthat is, one in which the vibrations take an indirect path when coming out from the cell to the mute, one part of said pathbeing horizontal and the other part inclined or vertical and the mute or valve being in the vertical part. Such constructions are illustrated in the patent to Nichols, No. 229,837, granted July13, 1880; but

it is not my purpose, nor is it the result of my mechanism, to produce in the reed-chambers a circuitous passage for the vibrations on their Way from the reeds to the open air. On the contrary, I prefer to have them move past the mute along lines as direct as possible, and afterward cause them to' pass across and be 'modified by the chamberl have been describing, which is practically closed except at the comparatively narrow passage-way h.

Again, organ-actions have been made with chambers exterior to the reed-chambers and above them, with passages through the top walls of the latter, said passages being in some cases permanently open and in others closed by supplemental mutes and valves, and Ido not claim these as of my invention; but in my case the tone-modifying chamber is outside of and surrounds the free ends of the cells or reed-chambers. In fact, I by preference inclose the ordinary mute in the said exterior chamber.

Although Fig. 1 in the drawings shows only one of the cells of a set or stop, it will be understood that the cells of the whole set are related to the exterior chamber in the way illustrated by said figure. By preference, though not necessarily, the chamber II is unobstructed throughout-that is to say, the cells all communicate with a common exterior chamber.

I herein refer to the slot or passage at h as being permanently open, and thereby wish to be understood as meaning that it is not varied, as are the openings at the ends of the cells and that at the free edge of the swell- Valve. If it be permanently open during the time that the reeds of the stop to which it is applied are sounding, it will be suificient to attain the ends at which I aim, and when the reeds are silent it is of course immaterial whether this slot or air-passage is open or not. Neither of its bounding-edges is formed by the mute. It can be considered as being of the nature of a slot, because of its being quite narrow in comparison with the crossdimensions of the chamber H, and is therefore readily distinguishable from the wide openings or passages that are present when narrow reflecting boards or strips are used outside of the mute to cause the vibration to take a circuitous path in passing out to the open air.

So long as a chamber having the essential features of that at H is present I do not limit myself to having the slot or passage h situated on exactly the lines shown relatively to the longitudinal lines of the reed-chambers, nor to having the board H hinged. With some stops there can be good elfect produced if the slot or passage h is somewhat higher than that shown; but I do not herein make specific claim for this air-passage when situated at the opposite side of the chamber Hthat is, at the upper side opposite to that adjacent to the free or movable edge of the mute; nor do I herein specifically claim an exterior tone-modifying chamber similar generically to that herein shown, except that its walls or reflecting-boards are all rigidly fastened, as I have shown both of the last said features in another application, Serial No. 242,514, filed June 25, 1887, and any patentable features incident thereto will be claimed therein.

The air-passages d d are separated from each other by a partition 01 which acts to cause the air to pass directly away from the vibrators in the reed-cells when the valves D are open. This assists the board H and the chamber of which said board constitutes one of the walls in producing the desired quality of the sounds above referred to.

On the opposite side of the trackers d cellboards are shown as being arranged so as to have two or three sets of cells, one superimposed on another. In conjunction therewith use may be made of one or more external chambers H, formed by boards similar to those at H and h, though I have not shown them on this side of the action in the drawings, to emphasize the fact that some parts of the present invention can be employed though others be dispensed with.

There is a swell-board J shown as being combined with the reed-chambers, and it may be of any preferred character, and it will be understood that one is to be used on the other side of the action, outside of the board II, when it is desired to provide for the effect of a swell in the ordinary manner.

By examining the chambers F of the upper set it will be seen that the roof of each chamber is so inclined relatively to its bottom that the chamber rapidly narrows from the outer end to the inner, the roof-line being brought down as close, practically, as it can be to the limit of the vibration of the reed. It will also be seen that the heads of the upper reeds are brought down much closer to the air-passage (i than they are in the ordinary horizontally-arranged upper reeds. I thus cause the upper reeds to speak substantially simultaneously with those of the lower set, and by having the sharply-inclined roof for the upper cell I provide for the immediate passing outward of the vibrations, and as the roof and bottom of each upper cell flare outwardly there is a marked augmenting of the tone and fullness of the sound.

I am aware of the fact that use has been made, first, of a cell-board placed directly over the valve-passage and having each of its cells formed with an inclined roof, and, second, that use has been made of the two sets of cells one above anotherthe upper cells being inclined so as to bring the heads of the reeds down to the valve-passage, but being of the same interior dimensions throughout, and I do not claim, broadly, either of such matters as being of my invention; but I believe myself to be the first to have pro vided an organ-action by which all of the desirable ends I aim at can be attained-namely, have the upper reeds speak substantially simultaneously with the lower ones, having an augmentation and immediate delivery of the sound from the upper cells, and arranging the upper and lower cells so that there is no interference of the reeds of one set with those of the other. The lines of the vibrations of the upper cells diverge from the lines of vibration of the lower cells to such an extent that as they advance toward the open air from the instrument they can follow such paths as not to become confused with each other.

That I claim is- 1. In a reed-organ action,the combination, with a reed-cell and the mute or valve at the end thereof, of an exterior chamber inclosing the mute and provided with a permanentlyopen slot or reduced air-passage, the dimensions of said chamber being independent of the position of the mute, substantially as set forth.

2. In a reed-organ action, the combination, with a row or set of cells and a mute or valve which closes and opens all of said cells, of a chamber exterior to the said cells and exterior to the passage at the free edge of the mute, said chamber being unobstructed throughout and having a permanently-open passage-way independent of the free edge of the valve and in front of each cell, substantially as set forth.

3. In a reed-organ action,the combination, with the reed-cell, of a board or boards outside of said cell, arranged snbs"antially as set forth, to form an exterior chamber having a relatively-narrow permanently-open passage, and a movable valve or mute at the open end of the cell, having its free or movable edge situated on those longitudinal lines of the cell which extend toward the said air-passage of the exterior chamber.

4E. In a reed-organ action, the combination, with the reed-cell and the mute or valve therefor, of a reflecting-board, as at H, outside the cell, having a permanently-open air-passage, the said reflecting-board forming the wall of a chamber, which wall is stationary while the mute-valve is moving, substantially as set forth.

5. In a reed-organ action,the combination, with the reed-cell and the mute or valve G for closing said cell, of the reflecting-board H outside of said cell, supported out of contact with said mute and stationary while said mute is moving, and having an open air-passage directly in front of the free edge of the mute, substantially as set forth.

6. In a reed-organ action, the combination, with a reed-cell and the mute or valve therefor hinged on one side of the cell, of a reflecting-board, as at H, outside of said cell, having a permanently-open air-passage directly in front of the free edge of the mute, said reflecting-board being hinged to its support to permit access to the cell when the mute is stationar abutheld stationary when the mute is moving, substantially as set forth.

7. In a reed-organ-action,the combination, with the valves and the reed-board having the air-passage, of the partition cl in said airpassage, the cell-board, and the reflectingboard outside of the cells and arranged, substantially as set forth, to provide a chamber around the mutes with a permanently-open air-passage h, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY A. VOGEL.

IVitnesses:

ALBERT S. BOND, PAUL F. KUHNE. 

